Responding to a request from the Vashon Island Audubon Society and the
Vashon-Maury Island Community Council, Washington Trout is surveying Vashon
Island streams to identify which are being used by salmon and trout. The
streams of Vashon Island have historically provided habitat for sea-run
cutthroat trout, coho, and other salmon. Sea-run cutthroat populations have
severely declined in Puget Sound, and Puget Sound coho are a candidate for
listing under the Endangered Species Act. The community groups are concerned
about the effects that development and other land use practices are having on
the Islandís native salmon and trout streams.

In Washington, the degree of protection afforded streams depends on how they
are classified by the Department of Natural Resources. All rivers and streams
are identified under five "types." Type-one, -two, and -three streams
are fish-bearing. Type-four and -five streams are non fish-bearing. Accurate
stream typing is essential to protecting fish and their habitats. For example,
riparian buffer zones required on type-two streams may be smaller on
type-three streams or may only be voluntary on type-four streams. Buffers are
generally not required at all on type-five streams.

DNRís original stream typing underestimated the actual miles of fish-bearing
streams by almost 50% statewide. Little on the ground verification was done,
and thousands of miles of streams were incorrectly typed and mapped throughout
the state. Put simply, streams that needed protection did not get it, and
hundreds of miles of wild salmon and trout habitat in Washington have been lost
forever. In 1997, responding to data from Washington Trout and Quinault tribal
biologists, DNR implemented an emergency ruling that revised their physical
standards for fish bearing streams. However, the ruling is applicable only to
forest practices. Most county and local governments rely on old, often
inaccurate water typing maps. Many streams in areas facing impending
development are still not being adequately protected.

Under our Habitat Lost and Found Project, WT has carried out stream-typing
surveys on over 4000 streams throughout Washington, upgrading the status of
thousands of fish-bearing streams. In the spring of 1999, Rayna Holtz,
president of Vashon Island Audubon Society, contacted WT to request a
stream-typing survey on Vashon Island. The Audubon chapter and the Community
Council pledged volunteer time and $1600 in cash toward the project, and last
fall WT secured an additional $5000 grant from the Trout and Salmon Foundation
to fund the field work. This spring, King County pledged additional money to
supplement the fieldwork and to collate data collected in the stream-typing
surveys into Geographic Information System (GIS) files. Field work was
originally scheduled for ten days in June, 2000 and was extended an extra week
to include surveys on streams that do not appear on current DNR Base Maps.

Vashon Island is relatively small (approx. 30 sq. miles), drained by typically
small, low gradient streams, many shorter than 1/4 mile. Many of Vashonís
streams are currently classified as non fish-bearing and only a handful of the
relatively larger streams are classified as type-three or above. These types of
small, isolated drainages have often been overlooked or written off. But many
of Vashon Islandís streams are known to harbor populations of sea-run cutthroat
and coho salmon, and could potentially harbor populations of pink and chum
salmon as well. Many potentially fish-bearing streams on the Island are
currently unclassified or not identified on maps at all, and qualify for no
legal or regulatory protection whatsoever.

Project Update
Washington Trout crews are surveying all of Vashon Islandís streams according
to Timber, Fish & Wildlife protocols, physically walking and recording
habitat notes for each stream (including data on stream substrate, riparian
habitat, gradient, barriers to fish migration, species encountered, etc.),
verifying fish presence by visual observation
or by electro-fishing. By June 13, crews had surveyed almost 50 streams on the
Island. Theyíve found evidence to upgrade the classification of twelve streams
from non fish-bearing to fish-bearing. Nine streams (Robinwood; Green Valley;
Baldwin; Dilworth; Gorsuch; Glen Acres; Tsugwalla; Paradise Cove; one unnamed
creek) will be upgraded from type-four to type-three, and three (MacLeod;
McCormick; one unnamed creek) will be upgraded from type-five to type-three.

Crews have also collected data to upgrade two sections of Fisher Creek, one of
the Islandís larger systems, to type-two. Lower Fisher will be upgraded from a
type-three to a type-two stream based on significant anadromous fish use (by
sea-run cutthroat trout). Sections of upper Fisher Creek will be upgraded to
type-three from type-four and type-nine (untyped), and another unmarked section
will be upgraded to a type-two water supply. Ellis Creek, identified as a
type-four stream on the DNR base map, will be upgraded to a type-two water
supply. WT crews found fish all the way to a fish-blocking diversion dam on
Ellis Creek, indicating that without the barrier, the creek could be providing
even more fish habitat. So far WT has found evidence of coho in at least one
stream, and substantial use by sea-run cutthroat trout throughout the islandís
streams. WDFW records indicate that coho and chum salmon have historically used
several island streams.

When the field surveys
are completed and the data analyzed, the results will be submitted to DNR to
amend water-type maps and distributed to any interested state or local
government agencies. If the results of the survey are not successfully
challenged within 30 days, the relevant streams will immediately receive new,
stricter protections, without any lengthy and costly judicial, administrative,
or legislative processes. The classifications will also be translated into King
county Sensitive Area Ordinance (SAO) designations. Under the SAO, streams
upgraded to type-three and type-two on the DNR Base Map will be categorized as
Class Two streams (with salmonids), and qualify for protections that include
100 foot stream buffers.

With funding from King County, WT will collate survey and GPS data collected by
our field crews, and create multiple GIS layers and shape files that will
include the new stream designations, the location of fish barriers, and other
important information. The layers will be incorporated into GIS maps and other
products that can be readily accessed, analyzed, and updated by WT, King
County, and any other entity interested in a complete, accurate assessment of
Vashon Islandís watersheds.

Other Findings
Many of the type-four and -five streams that drain directly to the shoreline
around the island may have been
possible over-wintering habitat for juvenile fish, but are now completely
blocked from estuaries and near-shore habitats by bulkheads and culverts.
During the course of the surveys, crews identified scores of other fish
barriers caused by derelict water supply systems. Many currently used water
systems, including the Countyís, are barriers as well.

Water use may be a significant limiting factor for the Islandís native fish.
Water supply systems block fish migration and alter the hydrology of the
streams. Current maps do not even show the source points for many streams
(springs), many of which are type-two water supplies. The Islandís streams are
almost entirely fed by ground water, and the decreased average flow in many
streams may be evidence that Vashon Islandís aquifers are being depleted. Water
District 19 diverts a substantial amount of water from Beall Creek, on the
eastern side of the Island. They have maintained that Beall is non fish-bearing
and in past years they have significantly de-watered the stream (even though it
is already classified as type-two). Contrary to the Districtís claim, WT crews
found fish in Beall Creek right up to the water-diversion barrier.

The Benefits of Community Commitment
The Vashon Audubon chapterís initial interest in the project was sparked by
questions from landowners that wanted to know whether fish still used the
streams on their property. They wanted to know whether factors such as logging,
culverts, development, or greater seasonal water flow fluctuations had degraded
the streams or hurt the fish that use them. Rayna Holtz sees the stream surveys
as an effort by and for the landowners along the Islandís streams.

According to Holtz, many Vashon Island landowners are proud stewards of their
streams, but are concerned about impacts above and below their property
boundaries. The Audubon chapter wanted to acquire a factual baseline for the
whole community to use in making land use decisions that involve streams.

Through Washington Troutís involvement, conservation-minded landowners have the
service of experts to help them evaluate the health of their stream, what fish
use it, where problems exist, and how much additional habitat could be opened
by fixing the problems. Knowing the facts will help them write grants or
recruit volunteers to help work on restoration and preservation projects.
Development-minded stream owners get free information they need to apply for
permits to develop their property, information they would otherwise pay
hundreds of dollars to get through the services of a professional
biologist/consultant.

Audubon volunteers have put in hundreds of hours raising money and publicizing
the stream surveys, contacting landowners to get permission to survey streams
on private property, and guiding the WT team. The Audubon chapter expects to
put in many more hours disseminating the information gathered in the surveys.
Many landowners have voluntarily welcomed the WT team, in many cases
accompanying them, showing them stream features, asking for advice and
information. The cooperation of these stream owners has made it possible to
look at key parts of nearly
every single stream on the island, and in most cases the entire length of the
year-round streams.

Vashon Island is susceptible to the same rapid growth pressures being suffered
throughout the Greater Puget Sound area. Residents and community groups on the
Island are concerned about the pace and direction of that development, and want
all the Islandís streams accurately classified and adequately protected. They
know that wild native fish use the Islandís streams, and they understand the
contribution those fish make to the quality of life on the Island.

They did not, however, have the equipment or expertise to demonstrate how and
where fish use Vashon Islandís streams, or the clout needed to persuade state
or county authorities to step in. Washington Trout does have the knowledge and
experience, and we were excited to respond to the communityís request for help.
The streams of Vashon Island - and their native fish populations - will benefit
from the commitment of the Islandís residents.